


Scars And All

by PJO_Fangirl_13



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PJO_Fangirl_13/pseuds/PJO_Fangirl_13
Summary: He places the hot pan down on the stove so he's able to turn off the oven, and when the timer is replaced with the clock time that reads 6:34 pm, Percy picks the pan back up to bring it over to the table. While doing so, Anthea asks Annabeth a question on how to spell a specific word, and though Annabeth can't spell for the life of her, she tries her best. She's distracted and Percy turns towards her just in time to see his wife accidentally slice her finger open with the knife blad, read blood seeping out of the wound and everything freezes.Annabeth hisses and reaches for a paper towel but Percy can't take his eyes off the blood that's running from his thumb, down to her hand and when the first drop of blood hits the floor with a clink, an image of Tartarus flashes across his vision and the pan slips out of his grasp. It falls to the floor, the glass breaking and the food spilling across the floor- ruined.Or, the one where Percy has a panic attack and his kids let him know they love him even though he's damaged beyond repair
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, percabeth - Relationship
Kudos: 52





	Scars And All

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Panic attack

It's a regular night at the Jackson apartment. While Percy and Annabeth start preparing dinner, their children are sitting around the table doing their own things: Anthea's writing something down in her leather back journal before transferring it over to her laptop she'd been gifted for her birthday about a year ago, Priya's finishing up a sketch she'd been proudly working on since arriving home from school while Leander attempts to read a book Anthea recommended him, but to no avail as he keeps getting distracted by asking his sisters questions about their different art pieces. 

Percy's glazing the sauce- he'd spent about ten minutes making it- across the precooked chicken breasts that are laid out across the glass pan that will soon be inside the hot oven, and he glances over at his wife, smiling slightly as he watches her chop vegetables as a side dish for their meal. Her lips are pressed together, though they quirk up when Anthea makes a snide comment to Leander, and her eyebrows are furrowed in concentration. Her blond hair that's tied into a messy bun seems to sparkle in the setting sunlight seeping through the open windows, and her dangerous grey eyes shin brighter than any light he's ever seen. 

The oven beeps, breaking Percy out of his thoughts, and he tears his eyes away from Annabeth so he can quickly slide the pan into the preheated oven. He sets the oven for twenty minutes before crossing the kitchen and wrapping his arms around Annabeth's waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder and nuzzling her neck with his nose. He doesn't have to look at her to see she's smiling, and his own lips tilt upwards as she leans her head back, plopping a quick kiss to his forehead before continuing on with her task. 

"Can you get the lettuce out of the fridge?" Annabeth asks him and he reluctantly retracts his arms around her so he can open the fridge that's only a foot away. His green eyes travel around the varieties of food until he finds the already chopped up lettuce she'd bought at the store during her last shopping trip. He grabs the bag and hands it over to her. She grins over at him thankfully. "Thanks."

Percy places a soft, loving kiss to her cheek in response, loving the way her cheeks still flush a light pink even after twenty-three years of being together, and he allows his hand to lightly brush against her waist before he turns around. He plops himself down on a chair around the table where their kids are still hard at work with whatever they're working on. Leander, who's sitting beside him, leans closer and shows him a word he's struggling on and Percy shrugs helplessly as he tells him he doesn't know either. 

"Did you all finish your homework?" he asks the three of them. 

Anthea and Leander both nod, not giving him a second glance. 

"Yeah, I'm still working on this sketch though," Priya tells him as she adds another detail he can't quite make out from across the table. Her curly black hair is pulled back into a low ponytail, a few shorter strands that won't reach fall in front of her face as she hunches across the table, and her grey eyes shine with determination as she makes the final touches to her sketch. "Done!" she exclaims proudly, holding up the paper. 

"Can I see it?" Percy holds out his hand and his daughter silently places the thin sheet of paper in his palm without so much as hesitation, and he brings it closer to his face so he can examine the artwork she's created. His eyes involuntarily widen as he takes in all the detail she'd put into her project; the almost unnoticeable pencil strokes as they fade into the shading, the shadows casting out around the figures making them seem more lifelike and realistic- it's really good. And what makes it even better is it's a portrait, and not just of anybody, but of a photo Annabeth had taken of all Anthea, Priya, and Leander. "Wow," he breathes. "That's amazing, Priya." 

Her cheeks flush a light pink. "Do you like it?" 

"I love it," Percy corrects her honestly and he's still partially baffled on where she'd gotten her artistic talent. It certainly wasn't him, but maybe Annabeth had passed it down since she draws buildings all the live long day, though his wife cannot draw people for the life of her. His biggest guess is Priya developed the skill all on her own. Either way, he's immensely proud of her, and everything she does. His heart swells with fatherly love as she sends him a wide smile and accepts her drawing back, tucking it safely into a large folder she calls a portfolio. "You might want to show your mom though. She'll want to frame that." 

"Want to frame what?" Annabeth asks as she appears beside the chair Anthea is currently sitting, typing away on her laptop- probably another short story she'll publish on her website- and begins to run her slim fingers through their oldest daughters' blonde curls, slowly working out any knots and tangles she comes across. 

"Priya's sketch," Percy answers. "It's awesome." 

Annabeth's eyes brighten and faces Priya. "Oh, let me see!" 

"You guys are embarrassing," Priya mutters with a roll of her eyes, but pulls out her sketch nonetheless, handing it over to Annabeth half-halfheartedly. 

"Why? Because we're interested in our daughter's artwork?" Percy smirks. Priya rolls her eyes once again and all Percy can do is chuckle under his breath as he notices how much alike she is to Annabeth when she'd been fifteen. 

Annabeth gasps once her eyes take in the entire drawing, mouth agape as her gaze flickers back and forth between the drawing in her hands and Priya who's cheeks have taken on that light pink color again as she averts her eyes away from her mother's. "Oh my gods, Priya," she breathes out in amazement. "This is- this is really good. That's talent." 

Priya tries to bite back a grin but fails. "I prefer spray paint but...." 

"It's still amazing," Annabeth insists, eyes drinking in all the intricate details across the paper one last time before handing it back to Priya so she can tuck it away back in her portfolio. She ruffles Priya's black hair before bending down to hug her. "I'm serious, it's amazing." 

"Thanks," Priya laughs out and pats her mom on the back, smiling up at her when they pull away from the embrace. 

Percy's smiling lovingly at the two of them as he realizes how eternally grateful he really his for this family he's been blessed with after years and years of running around on quests and fighting in wars, gaining scar after scar that won't fade no matter the time, even if two of their kids are totally ignoring everything going on around them. 

The oven's loud beeps breaks Percy's train of thoughts and he blinks his way out of his daze. He pushes away from the table, standing up from his chair, and saunters over to the oven, Annabeth following closely so she can finish cutting up the tomatoes for the salad. Percy grabs an oven mitten from the drawer to his right and slips it over his hand before reaching into the oven and taking out the pan where the steaming hot chicken glazed over with the sauce he'd made is sitting inside.

He places the hot pan down on the stove so he's able to turn off the oven, and when the timer is replaced with the clock time that reads 6:34 pm, Percy picks the pan back up to bring it over to the table. While doing so, Anthea asks Annabeth a question on how to spell a specific word, and though Annabeth can't spell for the life of her, she tries her best. She's distracted and Percy turns towards her just in time to see his wife accidentally slice her finger open with the knife blad, read blood seeping out of the wound and everything freezes. 

Annabeth hisses and reaches for a paper towel but Percy can't take his eyes off the blood that's running from his thumb, down to her hand and when the first drop of blood hits the floor with a clink, an image of Tartarus flashes across his vision and the pan slips out of his grasp. It falls to the floor, the glass breaking and the food spilling across the floor- ruined. 

Their kids around the table jump out of their seats at the loud sound of the glass breaking and Annabeth spins around, clutching the paper towel to her thumb and the blood seeping through the towel only makes him feel worse. Her eyes are wide with worry as his own glazed over eyes stay focused on her mild injury and his chest heaves as he tries to take in oxygen, but his lungs are stinging as though he's taking in toxic air. 

"No," Percy whispers brokenly when another image of Annabeth scraped and bloody as they travel their way through Tartarus together takes over his line of vision, and he takes a few steps back, breath hitching in his chest as his back hits the counter. Annabeth's calling out his name frantically but she sounds as though she's underwater and he can't make sense of anything around him. Is he in Tartarus or is he in his apartment? Are those his kids standing a few feet away or monsters ready to kill him and Annabeth? Is the glass scattered across the floor from the pan he'd dropped or from the glass beach? 

"Oh my gods, Dad!" he hears Anthea call out, but he can't respond. 

Percy slowly slides down to the floors before his legs have the chance to give out, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them as he rocks back and forth muttering "no, no, no". His head shakes and his eyes are squeezed shut as he tries to fight off the flashbacks that are swimming to the surface. He flinches as something grasps his shoulders, crying out: "Let me go! Don't hurt her, please!" 

"Percy, Percy, it's me!" he hears Annabeth cry. "It's not real! Fight it!" 

"Is he okay?" Priya calls out from where she's standing beside her siblings. 

Annabeth doesn't answer, much less glance her away, her mind is set on calming him down right now, and she lets her hands move from his brood shoulders to the sides of his face, the pads of her thumbs softly caressing the skin beneath his squeezed shut eyes, and Percy slightly relaxes against her touch. Percy feels her forehead against his seconds later and he leans forward just a bit so he can feel her very real breath against his skin, and he copies her as she patiently walks him through breathing exercises. 

There's tears sliding down his cheeks, he notices as he comes back to the real world, and he cries out for Annabeth who whimpers in response and tightly wraps her arms around him comfortingly, and he collapses into her. His shoulders shake with heart wrenching sobs and he buries his face into her shoulder, breathing in her lemon scent, hands gripping her waist to remind himself that she's real and she's here and she isn't going anywhere. 

"You're okay. I got you. We're together," Annabeth whispers, "I love you." 

Turning his head to the side so his cheek is resting against her shoulder, Percy continues to take deep and even breaths as he tries to remember how he'd calmed himself down all those years ago when they'd returned from Tartarus. He hasn't had a flashback nor a nightmare since Anthea had been little, so the sudden flashback had caught him off guard, and he certainly hadn't been ready to fight one off. And by the way Annabeth's gripping his shoulders right now, he can tell she feels the same way. 

His cries subside into quiet sniffles as his gaze trails from the broken glass scattered across the floor from the pan he'd dropped to his three kids who are watching the scene play out before them with wide eyes, and he notices Leander's even gripping onto Anthea's hand. 

Percy hesitantly pulls away from Annabeth, his heart clenching painfully as he sees the look on her face when she sits back; eyes dull and full of worry, and she looks scared but he can't really blame her. Her gaze travels around his face before she leans forward and connects their lips in a soft kiss and Percy leans into it, cupping her jaw in one hand while the other rests lazily against her hip. They pull away a second later since their kids are right there and Percy looks back to the broken glass, mind still a bit foggy. 

"Did I-?" 

"Yeah," Annabeth whispers, stroking his cheek. "You did but it's okay." 

"Did I- did I hurt anyone?" he asks softly. 

Annabeth shakes her head and kisses him again. "No, you dropped it." 

He nods, swallowing thickly, and allows her to help him to his feet, keeping her hand wrapped around his arm, keeping him in place in case his body disagrees with him and decides to collapse right then and there (it had happened more than once after episodes when they'd been teenagers). 

"I am so sorry," Percy says, voice cracking, to his kids once he and Annabeth had made it around the broken shards of glass that she's offered to clean up in a few minutes after she cleans up her bloody thumb. "I- I didn't mean to scare any of you. I-" He's cut off by Leander slamming into him, his arms wrapping around his middle and Percy lets go of Annabeth so he can wrap his arms around his son. 

"We're just glad you're okay," Leander tells him. 

Percy runs his hand over Leander's blond curls before looking up at his two daughters who are watching him with mixed emotions. "I just- I thought I was over being traumatized from my passed. I haven't had an episode since you'd been one," he directs the statement at Anthea who's eyes soften. "But I guess some scars just don't heal and I'm sorry you three had to witness that." 

"I love you, Dad," Leander says, tightening his arms around him and Annabeth ruffles his hair before hugging her husband and son. 

Priya nods and joins the hug. "We all do." 

"Scars and all," Anthea adds before coming to join the group hug. 

Percy grins because they love him. Scars and all. 


End file.
